The constant ringing of phones at call centres has almost come to a halt over the last few years.
Most companies have switched their focus from the product to the consumer, with greater importance being placed each year on successful interactions. To accomplish this they've added texting, emailing and even social media - all capabilities that the traditional call centre simply couldn't handle.
But the tide is changing, and the industry is now deploying unified communications to improve call centre performance.
Catching up to speed
Just like any other occupation, a mix of stagnation, limited technological capabilities and a growing importance on efficiency have all combined to make call centres less effective every year. At the same time, forward-thinking companies are doing everything in their power to put the consumer in command through multi-channel communication.
Unified communications improves and streamlines call centre experiences.
Organisations are quickly recognising that outdated customer service strategies can lead to low retention rates - especially when other enterprises are improving vastly in that area. Many are turning to unified communications as a way to improve and streamline their call centre experience.
"A few years ago the [call] centre was almost given up for dead," Joe Staples, chief marketing officer for Interactive Intelligence, told Tech Target. "With multi-channel modes of communication available, businesses began to realise they could differentiate their customer service by not only making and receiving calls, but by adding web chat, email and social media communications."
Full steam ahead
At the core of this transition lies unified communications, a powerful platform that offers multi-channel capability through an intuitive heads up display (HUD) and works in tandem with a call centre's business phone system.
Businesses are using multiple channels to reach consumers.In its simplest form, it allows agents to contact co-workers, managers and customers quickly and seamlessly through a variety of applications:
- Employee presence;
- Online chat;
- Audio and video conferencing;
- Screen sharing;
- Click-to-email;
- Drag-and-drop calling.
For example: A consumer could have called a recently hired customer service representative about a highly technical issue with their product. The employee can quickly identify which staff members with the right experience are available to take the call, and can listen in while he or she is troubleshooting the problem so they can learn and be able to tackle it the next time the issue pops up.
There are two traits of the modern call centre: improved productivity and flexibility. By making it easier to connect with customers and co-workers, Fonality research found that unified communications can save roughly two hours per day in lost time. Similarly, the wide range of applications simplifies multi-channel communication, which is undoubtedly the future of call centre success. Contact a Fonality representative today to learn more.
